1. Field of Art
The present invention generally relates to the field of digital image processing, and more specifically, to methods of estimating illuminations in images.
2. Background of the Invention
Many current information systems store large quantities of digital images, such as map applications that provide views of the surrounding area for a given map location. However, many of these images include undesirable characteristics such as uneven ambient illumination that degrade the content of the images. For example, some map systems contain many images of buildings, sometimes obtained from multiple sources. Typically, these images vary in image quality depending on the location of where the image was taken or the time of day that the image was captured. Such images may include an uneven illumination caused by neighboring buildings or illumination effects caused by window reflections. The presence of the uneven illumination in the images thereby results in undesirable characteristics due to the lack of uniformity of color intensity in the images. As a result, these systems provide users with images of less than desirable quality.